Chad's Worship Blog
by Chad Winterfeldt, Music Director
March 8, 2010
Recently, a friend of mine sent an email describing the palliative effects of music as he was mourning the death of a local teen-aged acquaintance. My friend was out of town on business, and had no real person with whom he could share his grief, so he relied upon the strains of several pieces of music to accompany his sadness. Included in his list were compositions by Mozart, Palestrina, John Rutter, and Rachmaninov.
In times of trial, many turn to music as a resource to help them express their emotions. The power of music to give meaning where words will not do is universally recognizable. And yet, the value of music is often relinquished to that of dispensability or pro bono. (Think of how easily music is tossed around digitally, with little concern for compensation to its creators, or how often we speak of musical ability as a “gift,” ignoring the work, time, and dedication involved in acquiring the gift.)
Recently, an address to the parents of the Freshman class at the Boston Conservatory has appeared in almost every musical journal to which I subscribe. It’s a powerful piece for contemplation, and one which ponders musical power and value. Please read this address, by pianist Karl Paulnack, at the following website:
http://greenroom.fromthetop.org/2009/03/11/karl-paulnack-to-the-boston-conservatory-freshman-class/
I hope you are inspired!
Chad
March 1, 2010
Vater unser im Himmelreich. Last week, Sarah Lutter thought I had made a mistake when submitting for the second Sunday in Lent the prelude title “Our Father, God in Heaven Above.” The confusion arose because I had given her the same title the previous week; all that had changed was the composer.
She asked why I would play a piece based on the same hymn two weeks in a row. In some sense, I am playing a game with myself – thinking of a theme by which to organize some musical exploration. In another sense, though, I am intentionally highlighting an old hymn tune that has slipped away from our collective conscience. During the five Sundays in Lent, I will play different preludes based on this hymn as an educational endeavor.
The text and tune for this particular hymn come from the first years of the Lutheran Reformation. Martin Luther created the text, which is a versification of the Lord’s Prayer. In German, the text began, Vater unser im Himmelreich. Associated with the tune as found in Valentin Schumman’s Geistliche lieder auffs new begessert und gemehrt (1539), the chorale quickly gained common use as a sung version of the Lord’s Prayer, in German and English. The strong melody has attracted the compositional efforts of many church music composers, from early 17th century Heinrich Scheidemann, to J.S. Bach, Felix Mendelssohn, Max Reger, and in the 20th century, Jan Bender.
Often I hear the comment that German Chorales are too old, stodgy, stultifying, or just too “minor” to be sung in contemporary (meaning: “today’s”) worship. Granted, the chorales of the Reformation period are old. But to realize that many of these tunes have inspired musicians in all the centuries since 1517 offers a testament to their enduring quality. I think that this longevity recommends them as especially pertinent for our sung devotion. And, I’ll also grant that the tunes are often “minor” – a reflection of historical modal composition rather than an effort to be “sad.” But the other two points (stodgy or stultifying) – that’s just an issue of leadership – we can just sing faster or with more verve!
I hope you enjoy hearing these chorale settings during Lent. And, look forward to singing the chorale sometime soon in the future! Check out the hymn sometime (ELW 746).
Chad
October 12, 2009
This installment of my worship notes comes from an article in CrossAccent, which is the journal of the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. ALCM is a pan-Lutheran organization; therefore topics address a broad spectrum of interests among Lutheran church bodies. Recently, the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod produced a new supplemental hymnal, which appears to be similar in scope, size, and purpose as that of With One Voice. A very informative article, written by Bryan Gerlach, introduced the new supplement to the readers of CrossAccent. Gerlach is the Administrator for the WELS Commission on Worship, thus, the title “Christian Worship: Supplement – An Insider’s View” is appropriate.
Gerlach discusses the new liturgical settings in the supplement, and in the course of discussion, offers these thoughts about Luther, Liturgy, and Christian Freedom:
Martin Luther was a champion of the liturgy because it put the focus on Christ’s gifts to us in the means of grace. Luther wrote, “Among Christians the whole service should center in the Word and sacrament” (LW 53:90). Many orders of service were composed in the early Reformation era. The quality of these services, however, was inconsistent. So Luther produced two services – one in Latin, one in German – that set a standard for Lutheran worship. Luther had no intention of imposing his rites on the church, but he did desire to offer a good model for public worship.
Luther was also a champion of Christian freedom. Nowhere is this better seen than in his approach to worship. Although he retained a liturgical outline for his two services, he didn’t bind himself slavishly to its form. The Gloria could be omitted if the pastor saw fit. Hymn paraphrases could replace the traditional texts of the Creed and Sanctus. The elevation could be included or omitted. He made no legalistic requirements: “Do not make it (i.e. the German service) a rigid law to bind or entangle anyone’s conscience, but use it in Christian liberty as long, when, where, and how you find it to be practical and useful” (LW 53:61).
Luther’s model of freedom also exemplified wisdom. He avoided an every-man-for-himself mentality. He encouraged brotherly agreement to use similar rites for the sake of the laity, who could be easily confused if every parish followed its own order: “As far as possible we should observe the same rites and ceremonies, just as all Christians have the same baptism and the same sacrament [of the altar] and no one has received a special one of his own from God” (LW 53:61).
Next installment: Musical participation in worship – some surprising observations!
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October 1, 2009
Question: "Why don't we sing the Kyrie and Canticle of Praise every Sunday at First Lutheran?"
Answer: These two parts of the liturgy are part of the "ordinary" of the Mass, which means for centuries, they were always incorporated during Eucharistic celebrations. The "propers" of the Mass varied from celebration to celebration, so that the proper texts spoken or sung related specifically to the theme of the day. We hear a "proper" text when the cantor sings alone a biblical text during the Alleluia, or Gospel Acclamation.
Regarding liturgy, Lutherans are guided by statements in the Augsburg Confession and the Apology, such as:
"The Mass is retained among us and is celebrated with the greatest reverence."
"We keep traditional liturgical forms such as the order of the lessons, prayers, vestments, etc."
With these statements in mind, we could be bound to singing all parts of the "ordinary" every week. But a brief look at the history of the formation of the ordinary shows that the Kyrie and the Canticle of Praise (almost always the "Glory to God") developed as part of an elaborate entrance rite the pope used to make into the churches of Rome. The Manual on the Liturgy for the Lutheran Book of Worship notes that "this elaborate rite, designed originally to cover the ceremonies of a papal visit, is far more than is necessary or perhaps even desirable as a constant practice." (211)
In the Leaders Desk Edition of Evangelical Lutheran Worship, the notes on the services encourage flexibility and caution with regard to the gathering (or entrance) rite before Holy Communion. It states:
"The gathering section of the service is marked by flexibility; it may be shaped in a variety of ways. Whatever elements are included, it is important that the gathering rite not overshadow the principal parts of the primary service of the Christian assembly, namely, the proclamation of the word of God and the sharing of the meal of the Lord's supper." (17)
You will note in our Sunday bulletin, we distinguish these parts of the service with bold headings: Gathering, Word, Meal, and Sending.
Next edition: thoughts on Luther, Liturgy and Christian Freedom